Is Russia winning the so-called information war? Russia’s state-owned media produces high-quality propaganda. Russia invests money in pro-Russia organizations and radicals abroad. But is it working? Are people influenced by Russia’s propaganda? Is Latgale the next Crimea? In fact, the narrative of foreign media may have an even larger impact on influencing the perception of Russia’s influence.
Martins Hirss’ academic interests include Russia’s influence operations abroad and U.S. foreign policy. For the last 2 years, Martins has been researching Russia’s influence in Latvia. He was a recipient of a scholarship from the Baltic‑American Freedom Foundation and obtained his Master’s Degree in Political Science from New York University. He is currently writing his PhD dissertation on U.S. relations with Russia at the University of Latvia’s Department for Social Sciences.